Mine Girl: Wiress's Story
by lorethevac
Summary: Tick tock...this is Wiress's Story. From her first Games to her first time mentoring. Enjoy, and comment!
1. Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

My platform begins to rise. By the time the various bolts and pipes have locked into place at the top, I have already mapped out the layout of the arena.

One giant island in the middle, surrounded by a ring of water. We all start on the island, with the Cornucopia in the middle. Palm trees mean coconuts, so there's no need to worry about food if I can get a knife. If there are trees, then there must be a water source somewhere.

Now there are thirty seconds until the gong sounds.

I look over at the girl from 5 sobbing on her pad. She hasn't stopped crying since her chariot pulled her and her partner around the town square in the Capitol. I feel sorry for her, but she isn't any worse off than me.

Suddenly, she stops crying. For a few seconds she stares at the ground.

Then she throws herself off of her pad.

I turn my head away quickly just as the mines detonate and blow her to kingdom come. Something lands on my shoulder, but I'm too scared and disgusted to look at what it is. I shake myself vigorously to get it off.

It's her hand.

I start to hyperventilate.

I hear the girl from 8 scream next to me. The boy from 2, who was to the right of the blown-up girl, laughs and says, "Twenty-two to go!"

BOOONNNGGG! The gong sounds and everyone runs off towards the golden horn. Except me. I can't force my legs to move. I see the boy from 2 veer off to the right and tackle the boy from 8. He grabs the boy's head and shoves hard. The boy's neck snaps and I know he's gone.

"MOVE!", I tell myself. Finally, my legs connect with my brain and I start to run towards the fray. I spot a knife sitting up against a gray backpack.

No sooner have I started running for it when the girl from 1 tackles me to the ground and puts a knife to my throat.

I close my eyes and wait for the end, but instead hear a battle cry and feel her fly off of my chest to my right. I open my eyes and see that Girph, my partner from 3, has tackled her off of me and is now rolling around in the sand with her. I would thank him, but I need to get to safety.

I grab the pack and knife and turn around to tell Girph to follow me.

Too late.

I see him lying in the sand with a knife in his heart.

The rest of the afternoon is a blur. I slightly remember running into the palm tree forest. I remember finding a hiding place between two rocks where no one would find me. And I remember bringing my knees to my heaving chest and silently crying.

Night falls. The anthem sounds. I look up in the sky to see who is dead.

Girph is first. Next is the girl from 5. Then the boy and girl from 6. The girl from 7. The boy from 8. Both from 10. The girl from 11. Both from 12. 10 tributes dead.

13 left for me to fight. Or hide from. My odds of survival at the moment are 19.1%. Not including the fact that I am seriously outmached in terms of fighting and survival skills. My stomach begins to tie itself into a knot and I fall asleep listening to the waves of the sea slosh back and forth. Back and forth...


	2. Chapter 2: Death at my Doorstep

I wake up to find the District 4 girl screaming in my face.

Naturally, I start screaming too.

After a few seconds of terror, we both stop and stare at each other silently.

Then she says, "Well are you gonna help me or not?"

I cock my head and stare at her with a confused look on my face. She groans in what sounds like annoyance. Then I get it.

She's stuck.

The clump of rocks I have made my temporary home has a small cave-like opening big enough for a small and frail girl like me.

But the District 4 girl is muscular and tall. So she's stuck up to her waist in the crevice; her head and one of her arms are on my side.

She's screaming again. Actually, she's cursing. And it appears to be directed towards me.

Suddenly, her eyes flash open wide and she screams louder than ever before. Then she starts coughing up blood all over me. Her eyes roll back and her head hits the ground.

I hear a cannon blast.

I stifle a cry. A tribute has just killed this girl and her dead body is blocking my only exit.

This is not how I want to die.

After a few seconds, her limp body twitches slightly. Then I hear a small scraping noise. The noise gets louder.

Then the dead girl's body snaps and folds in an unnatural way and she flies out of the opening and I see the claws attached to her legs pulling her now broken body up into the air.

I start sobbing, but I quickly shut myself up, reminding myself that the tribute who killed her may still be nearby.

I stick my head out of the blood-stained opening.

There's no one in sight. I look up towards the horizon and see the hovercraft fly out towards the sea.

I crawl all the way out of my cave, stand up, brush the blood-soaked sand off of my body, and decide to go find some breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3: Day Two

From what I've read about beaches and tropical plan life, which is a lot since I've read every book in the District 3 library and at school, there should be one main type of fruit-producing tree here: coconut trees.

I've never had a coconut, but I know everything about them. They have a large brown shell that you must crack open to get to the skin. Inside the skin depending on the season is milk. The milk is a great substitute for water in the Games.

Most likely, I'm the only one who knows about the milk inside. The coconuts should be hanging from the top of the tree.

I find one right away. The tree is about twenty feet high and coconuts are littered all over the ground.

I'm about to take one when I hear someone approaching.

I take refuge behind a large boulder. I peek out from behind to see who it is.

The boy from District 4 is walking by the tree, no doubt looking for his lost partner. He'll know where she is tonight. He is about to keep moving when he stops.

He looks down and sees my footprints.

He starts to follow them over to my boulder.

And for once, instead of freezing, I start to formulate a plan instead.

The boy is taller and more muscular than I am. But his only weapon is a knife. The regulation bathing suits we are wearing don't have any space for holding anything else. Now how do I get away from him? Jumping in the water would be stupid since District 4 is the fishing district. Trying to take him on head to head would be suicide.

Suddenly, I come up with a daring and risky idea. As he begins to round the boulder, I run away from him to the other side, grab a coconut, and quickly run back to the closest side of the boulder.

As he comes around the boulder, I club him over the head with the coconut. He stumbles, clutching his head.

When he hits the ground, I dive after him and grab his knife. I get up quickly and back away from him. I duck down into the defensive position the knife trainer showed me back at the Capitol.

The boy stands up, realizes he doesn't have his knife, and stands there. Neither one of us are making a move. He's too smart to rush me weaponless and I'm too scared to take a life.

Then he opens his mouth and says, "Bet you're wondering why I'm walking around by myself, huh?"

Actually I am.

But I know he's just trying to get me to relax a bit so he can charge me and kill me. So I stay silent and crouched.

He doesn't wait for me to say anything to answer his question. "

Yeah, there's a Career pack, but I'm out looking for my partner. You haven't seen her, have you? Probably not. She would have finished you off easily."

He's getting me upset.

So I tell him the truth.

"I have seen her. In fact, I know exactly where she is," I say.

He gives me a puzzled look. "Where is she then?"

"By now, I'd wager a guess that she's crammed in a box being shipped back to your town," I say. And I crouch a bit lower and flip the knife around in my hand to make it look like I was the one who finished her off.

The boy doesn't even flinch. "Yeah right, she's probably heading this way right now to help me kill you." This gets me flustered. I yell at him, "Follow my footprints and you'll find a cave covered in blood! Her blood!"

I turn and point in the direction I came from.

And quickly realize my mistake.

By the time I've turned back, he's already rushing towards me with hands outstretched like talons. I scream, close my eyes, and blindly throw the knife in his general direction.

I refuse to open my eyes, even though I hear a bloodcurdling scream. The knife has made impact.

I decide to risk a peek. Just as I open my eyes, the boy falls and starts convulsing on the ground.

The knife has gone straight into his right eye and probably did some internal damage, since it's wedged in almost up to the hilt. Whatever I hit, it was vital.

The boy stops screaming and moving and a cannon sounds.

I realize that in less than an hour I've seen two of the Careers die.

One by my hands.

I stand there for a good five minutes in shock.

I am now a murderer.

I remind myself that the hovercraft needs to come and get him. And that I still haven't eaten anything.

I walk over to the coconut I used to club the boy and grab it. Then I run back towards my cave, remembering that I had left my backpack inside.

I don't even look back to see the hovercraft picking up the dead boy. District 4 must feel unlucky right now, considering the fact that a weak girl from District 3 has beaten two of their tributes.

I reach the cave, dust my footprints away, and crawl inside. Once there, I open my backpack and find my original knife from the Cornucopia. While I work at the coconut shell, I try to figure out how I was able to kill the boy from 4.

Lucky shot?

I don't believe in luck; everything happens for a reason, and luck is meaningless and illogical.

So…it must have been intuition. That happens a lot for me, knowing about things that I've never previously had any knowledge about.

Anyways, I decide it's time to go over all the dangerous tributes that are left and come up with a game plan on how to take them out.

Or avoid them.

Dangerous means that they got at least an eight for their training score, and I got a four, so I'm not exactly dangerous.

Myrrh, the girl from 1, got a nine. She was the one who tackled me and killed Gilph in the bloodbath. She likes knives and only knives. I gather that from watching her train and from the one she had at my neck before Girph saved me.

Her partner, Imperio, is a very fast and athletic kid. He's twelve, I believe. There was a lot of drama about him being in these Games because there is an unofficial rule in District 1 that if a twelve or thirteen-year-old is selected then someone else older than them must volunteer, since their "secret" training isn't yet complete.

But no one volunteered for him.

So you would think his only weapon is speed and a strong ally. Yet somehow, he pulled off an eight. He has something up his sleeve, so I'll have to watch him.

Withrop, the girl from 2, got a ten. She can only be described as a beast. She is as muscular as some of the Career boys I've seen in previous Games. Her preferred weapon seems to be a battleaxe or a broadsword, since she spent all of her time during training using those two tools to smash her way through an army of stuffed dummies. But all that muscle will slow her down, so speed should work against her.

Her partner is just as muscular and just as dangerous. His name says it all: Crush. He likes swords. Speed will beat him too.

The boy from eleven, Hyctor, got an eight. He knows how to use a bow and arrow, which surprises me because his district is in charge of farming.

Maybe he's a richer kid there with too much time on his hands.

Regardless, he has deadly accuracy and he isn't to be underestimated.

Then again, no one should be underestimated.

Those are the tributes with the biggest chances of survival. The rest of us got 3's, 4's, and 5's in training.

Except the girl from 5. She got a one. She probably was just sitting on the floor crying and the judges got bored of her fast. I can't stop thinking about the way that she died. Death by mines…ugh…it's scary to think about.

I finally get the coconut open and gulp down the milk. It's sweet and refreshing. Then I bring the shell down and see the blood splattered on the walls and throw up on the sand.

I can't stay here. It reminds me of the death on my hands.

I grab my backpack and knife and crawl out of the entrance.

I decide to head back towards the Cornucopia and see if there are any items left. As I walk, I think about home.

Home.

With my mother and father.

District 3 has a one-child policy implemented by the residents, not the government. That way, we will kill ourselves off in a few centuries and the Capitol will have no one to make their precious electronics.

The only exception to this rule is if your child dies in the Games. If we're going by odds, Mother and Father will have a new baby by next year.

I need to focus.

I don't want them to replace me.

I am going to win this…I am going to try to win this.

I see the horn on the horizon and my heart sinks. I see Withrop, Crush, Myrrh, and Imperio sitting up against the right curve of the horn. I'm about to turn back when Myrrh jumps up and points in my direction.

They've spotted me.

I don't take the time to check and see if they'll chase me; I turn and run.

His arrow stops me short.

The boy from eleven stands in front of me with a loaded bow. "Go," he says.

I listen to him and run past him back towards a grove of palm trees.

I take refuge in them and peek out to see what will happen to the boy who has saved me. Imperio is the first to reach him. Hyctor lets loose his arrow as the Career boy approaches with two curved knives in his hands. Imperio tries to dodge it but it flies through his forehead and he stumbles and falls while still running. A cannon goes off as his body finally reaches the end of its slide in the sand.

Hyctor then turns and runs. It takes only a few seconds to see why.

Withrop and Crush fly past my hiding spot chasing after the boy.

Myrrh falls to her knees and closes Imperio's eyes forever. She stares at his inert body for a short moment, the first act of remorse I have ever seen a Career display in all the Games I've watched.

Then she gets up and continues the pursuit.

And I am left alone.

I realize that I have been holding my breath and draw fresh air into my lungs. I step out and decide to take advantage of this opportunity to go get some supplies. Rushing up to the Cornucopia I see that the Careers haven't organized anything. All the items lie strewn around the horn.

I spot a few foods and drinks, and stuff them into my pack.

Then I see a long tarp and I get an idea.

I grab it and find some string and a long retractable staff. Once that is all in my pack, I look for more items to snatch.

I grab what looks like a utility belt and another set of knives.

The cannon stops me short. Someone has died.

I start running off in the opposite direction of where Imperio's body was. I reach the seaside in no time. There, I find a cluster of rocks similar to the ones I abandoned on the other side of the beach and sit down to prepare my invention.

I sew the rod onto one of the ends of my pack, and then tie the other end to my pack. Now when I walk on the beach the rod and tarp will smooth out the sand behind me, covering my footprints without totally smoothing out the sand around it. When I'm not using it, the rod can be compacted to the length of a pencil. Once compacted, the whole thing can be stuffed into my pack when I'm not using it.

I hear a foghorn go off somewhere over my head. I look up towards the ceiling of the cave, expecting some sort of announcement. Nothing happens, so I slump up against the walls of my new cave and shut my eyes, trying to relax. The foghorn sounded far away, so I don't worry about it.

It takes me a few minutes to realize that my legs are wet.

I open my eyes and see water surging in through the cave entrance. I quickly grab my pack and crawl out of my cave.

Once outside I see the ring of water surrounding the island has now overtaken the beach.

The tide is coming in.

This is a problem for me, because I can't swim. I doubt any of the other tributes other than the Careers can swim either. I stand there, the water now up to my shins, and try to come up with a plan.

Obviously, the Gamemakers are trying to bring us all into the center of the island, where it is highest. Another bloodbath is inevitable. The water is rising fast. It is now up to my knees. I either need to start moving towards my death or stay here and drown.

Suddenly, I feel my feet leave the ground and I start to float. I look everywhere at once in amazement, then look down at my waist. The belt I picked up at the Career camp has a small bubble with a purplish liquid inside.

Whatever is inside is making me float.

I flip my backpack over onto my stomach and lie back on the water cautiously. The belt keeps me afloat.

The water has now covered up my cave. I lie on the water and wait for the inevitable cannons.

The first one comes after about two minutes.

Two more sound before I hear another foghorn. I look up and see a girl holding onto the trunk of a palm tree in the distance. If any of the tributes can climb, they'll survive. Those that can't have the Careers to deal with.

Suddenly, the water rushes back out to its original ring and I am almost sucked out with it. I kick as hard as I can and end up on the sand near my cave.

I crawl back inside and check my supplies. All the food in the backpack is slightly drenched, but it all still looks edible.

I grab an apple and have some lunch. I don't expect anything else to happen today, so I reach into my bag and pull out a flask I found at the horn. The label says, "Sleep Powder". I've read about this too.

Floating on the water has exhausted my muscles, but I don't feel safe sleeping for too long. Sleep powder, from what I've read, will only let you sleep for a certain amount of time, depending on how much you take. One pinch per hour should do it. You sprinkle it into your eyes instead of ingesting it like sleep syrup. I decide to take five pinches so I'll be up in time for the anthem.

One, two, three, four, five.

My eyelids are slowly pulled down by an invisible force and the last thing I hear before I lose consciousness is the water lapping up against the sand, back and forth. Back and forth…


	4. Chapter 4: Day Three

I wake up with a start as the sleep powder quickly wears off. I yawn and reach for my pack to grab some food. I tide myself over with half an apple, and go sit outside my cave to watch the anthem.

I don't know who died during the chase after the boy from eleven, but before the tide came in there were nine tributes left, including me.

Now there are six.

It will be interesting to see who died when the water rose. I know that the boy from 5, the boy from 7, the girl from 8, the girl and boy from 9, the boy from 11, the girl from 1, and the girl and boy from 2 were still alive before the chase.

I'd wager a guess that the boy from 11 died. A bow and arrow doesn't work well while you're running away from someone.

Then there were the three deaths when the tide came in. Who were they? I'm about to find out.

The anthem starts and the first face I see is Imperio's. The boy and girl from 4 are next. The boy from 5 follows them. Next is the boy from 7, then the girl from 8.

Lastly, I see the boy from 11 and my heart sinks a little for the first time since Girph's death. I still don't understand why he sacrificed himself for me. He probably just felt sorry for me and thought he could get away without a problem. But Withrop and Crush's speed caught me off guard. I had no idea they could run so fast, and neither did he, unfortunately.

It's nighttime and I have nothing to do but go back in my cave and wait for morning. I'm not tired since I used the sleep powder, so I'll just sit back and think a bit.

Who's left now? Myrrh from 1, Whithrop and Crush from 2, me, and both from 9. Five tributes all looking to kill me.

I wonder how much longer the Career pack will stay together. Traditionally they break up after the final five and go their separate ways, hoping that someone else kills their partner if they're still alive. But sometimes if there's one Career alone, he or she will kill the others in their sleep and try to win on their own. I wouldn't put it past Myrrh.

I freeze. Over the water lapping up against the white sand, I hear footsteps approaching my cave.

More than one pair of footsteps.

Then I hear voices.

"We can't sleep out here, or we'll be taken out before we can even wake up!"

"So what do you want us to do, Jasper? It's too dark to see anything! Since you were too scared to come out of your tree and meet me on the ground after the water went down, we've lost precious daylight and now we can't find a hiding spot!"

"Remember who the real enemies are, Uladaya!"

"That's what I've been meaning to talk to you about. I think…I think it's time we split up. The numbers are too thin, and I don't want to be the one to kill you."

The footsteps stop and there is a short pause.

I move my head so I can see the two shadowy figures standing in the moonlight.

A girl and a boy. The ones from 9.

"Oh. I see. Well…you're right. We have a better chance of having a District 9 victor if we split up."

"This isn't what I want at all, but I can't kill you. I won't kill you."

"It's ok, Uladaya…um…if you end up winning…tell Heilien that I love her."

"Do the same for me if I die. Tell Trevor…"

I hear sniffling and the boy embraces the girl.

Then they break apart and stare at each other.

"Bye Jasper."

"Bye Uladaya."

They embrace again and then walk off in separate directions.

I sit back up against the wall and bury my head in my arms. Why does the Capitol do this to us? Just because our ancestors "rebelled" doesn't mean we should be punished. The sins of the father…

I reach into my pack and grab some water. Drinking it down, I realize I haven't been keeping track of my chances of winning. After a quick calculation, I realize that I have a 75% chance of walking away alive from these Games. I then remember that earlier in the morning my chances had been about 45%.

These Games are going by fast. Just today, seven tributes died. This might be all over tomorrow.

I jump as the sounds of the ocean are interrupted by a cannon. Someone has been killed, and at night. There are no dangers on this island, other than the water, so the person must've run right into another tribute.

I'm tired of these Games.

I'm tired of death.

I slump up against the cave wall and rest my head on my knees. I sit like that for a long time, and then I fall asleep.

When I pick my head back up, it is morning and the sunlight shines through the hole of my cave. I crawl out and let my eyes adjust to the sunlight. I hear a clunk and I turn to see a silver parachute lying over a covered tray.

My first sponsor!

I open it up and see that there is a note.

I grab the note and read from it.

"Wiress, you slept through the announcement. The feast starts in four hours. You seem to have enough food, but it might be smart to stay out on the edges and scout out the other tributes. I hope you return home. You've gotten further than any other tribute I've ever mentored. Yours, Jadjia."

My mentor is one of only three women from our district to win the Games. She was in an arena with no vegetation except pine trees, which meant no food. But she was able to recognize that these were genetically modified pine trees from the shapes of their needles. Over the course of two days, she found out that if you cooled the needles in water and then immediately burned them over a fire, the layer of pine skin would burn away, leaving a barb that dripped poisonous acid so powerful that it could burn through clothing. Any contact with the bacterial acid, and the unlucky person would be dead in seconds. She burned over a hundred needles and carefully handled them with metal tongs she picked up at the Cornucopia. Leaving them in strategic places, she had burned her way to the victor's circle in less than two days. She is revered by every person in District 3 for winning the Games with only a fire, a tree, and knowledge.

I need to focus on winning right now though, not her.

How am I going to beat the Careers? How will I even beat the District 9 tributes?

I sit down and close my eyes tight, scraping through my mind for some plan of attack against my opponents. But all I can think of is the different ways the other tributes died.

Imperio with an arrow.

The District 4 boy with my knife.

The District 5 girl with mines.

Mines…mines! That's it! I have to get to work right away though. I grab my sand-sweeping invention and strap it on. Then I set off for the Cornucopia.

Hopefully no one will be there to attack me.

I would assume that the Careers would have found a new location with a better water source. As I reach the horn, I see that I am right.

The Careers have left with most of their supplies and the area lies almost vacant. I look around for the one object I need.

And find it. A shovel.

I start digging away the sand. After a few minutes, I find the first mine.

The Gamemakers deactivate the mines after the Games start and the sixty-second waiting period is up, but I believe there is a way to reactivate them. I probe the mine a bit and find a switch. I flip the switch and hear a small ding.

I carefully put the reactivated mine back in the hole and cover it back up. Then I back away and move to the next one.

After three hours, I have created a good-sized minefield.

The feast will start in an hour.

I decide to run back to my cave and wait it out, so nothing surprising happens. I

get back to my cave safely. I take off my backpack and reach in to grab a rations bar and a bottle of water. Then I sit and wait.

After fifty-five minutes and twenty-three seconds, (I counted.) I hear an enormous explosion.

Then another.

Then another.

Then I hear a blast so loud and powerful that loose pebbles in the cave walls start to fall down and hit me on the head. Obviously someone has died.

I flash a smile of satisfaction until I realize what I'm smiling about. I'm killing people again.

And I start to shake.

I rock back and forth using my heels. And I fall asleep.

When I wake up again, it is near nighttime. The anthem will be starting soon.

I go outside and watch the sky for the face.

Or faces.

The mines blocked out the cannons so I'm not sure how many tributes died.

The anthem starts. I see Myrrh then Withrop's faces for what will be the last time. Then I see Crush.

The sky blinks out and I crawl back into my cave.

Now I understand what happened. Last night, Myrrh had fallen asleep and Withrop and Crush had killed her. Then this morning they walked into my minefield to get more supplies and blew themselves up.

Three of us left. And the other two are from the same district. This could be a problem.

For them.

Will they kill me then kill each other?

Or will they let me kill one of them so the other one can fight me?

Oh, I know they aren't from my district, but this is horrible. What will I do?


	5. Chapter 5: Finale

I wake up in my cave for what I believe will be the last time. With only three tributes left in the running, the Gamemakers won't let these Games drag along for another day.

It's time to end them. I reach into my backpack for more food. I have to move my hand around to find my last ration bar and bottle of water.

I stare at them, disappointed, then chow down on the ration bar and drink half of the water bottle.

I can always get another coconut later.

I wonder if Jasper and Uladaya have teamed up again.

I'm not sure. They may be hiding out from me.

I've barely survived in these Games, but for all they know I may be a killer in disguise.

There have been victors with training scores lower than five before. My four could have been a clever disguise. I've killed more people than I would have liked to.

Actually, one death is too many for me. But I've killed three people with intention, and most likely I'll have to kill the other two.

Which will make me a serial killer. Disgusting.

The foghorn sounds again and I quickly gather up my things into the backpack. The Gamemakers are forcing us together again. But I still have my belt, so I'll be fine.

As I grab my belt, I look at it and notice something's wrong.

The purple liquid has drained out of the belt. It's useless. How did that happen?

I see immediately what happened. When the final mine explosion went off, my backpack had been pinned by a small rock. I thought it hadn't done any damage, but apparently, in all the jostling around, my knife had punctured the bubble that held the liquid in the belt.

My thoughts are confirmed when I pull out my knife and see the tip coated in a purplish substance.

Now I have to stay away from the water. As I gather up my things and crawl out of the already waterlogged cave, I make a mental note to take up swimming lessons if I win this thing.

I start my walk to the Cornucopia, and then decide to run. If I get there first, I'll have a tactical advantage over my opponents.

As I reach the Cornucopia, my mouth drops open in shock.

The white sand has been burnt to a dark shade of black by my mines.

The Cornucopia shines gold on one side. The other side has been blasted off, and the remaining edges of the horn are bent and blackened.

The whole area is a disaster zone.

As I scope out the area, I notice a patch of sand that has turned from white to red, and I get sick.

Suddenly I hear a shrill cry and I am tackled to the ground. Uladaya lands on top of me and puts a knife to my throat.

Though everything inside is telling me to scream, I can't help but think about how similar this is to the beginning of the Games when Myrrh had me pinned to the ground.

Except this time, there is no Girph to tackle her off me.

No District 11 boy to shoot her with an arrow.

It's just her and me.

I see her hand grasp the blade tighter, and I close my eyes and wait for the end. When it doesn't come, I open my eyes.

As I do, she drops the knife. The handle bounces harmlessly off my throat and slips to the ground.

Then she starts crying. I try to shove her off me and she gets up without a fight.

"This isn't going to work," she says. "If I kill you, it'll be just me and Jasper. I can't kill him, and I won't let him kill himself."

I stand up and move away from her a couple steps.

She looks at me, and then stoops to pick up the knife. She grabs it with two hands and turns it to face her heart.

"If both of us can't win, then it should be him."

She prepares to thrust the knife into her chest and kill herself.

I'm about to scream at her to stop, but someone else beats me to it.

Jasper runs right by me and smacks the knife out of her hands.

It lands in the sand and uncovers something shiny. I gasp.

It's a mine. Some of the field is still active.

I stand completely still and listen to the two argue about who should die.

Neither of them know how much danger they are in.

"Jasper, you and Heilien have been together for two years. I've only been with Trevor for six months. You two deserve each other more than we do."

"This isn't about boyfriends and girlfriends, Uladaya, it's about you and me. Who would do our district better? Our district has the only stonemasons in the entire world! You were always better than I ever was at cutting and shaping rocks. The Capitol needs someone like you to make their tiles and stone blocks."

"I am so sick of you fighting for the Capitol. It's not about the Capitol and it never will be! Everyone likes you in our district. You're the golden guy. The kid who can do no wrong. Me? I'm a freak with a few friends and almost no family. No one will miss me. So back off. Get ready to kill her, because I'm not gonna be the one to kill you!"

Uladaya backs up towards the knife. I scream at her to stop, but my cries are muted by the immense explosion that sounds when she steps on the mine.

I am thrown backwards as the other mines around the vicinity of the explosion all go off.

I land in a heap on the sand. The explosions stop and there is silence.

My shoulders start heaving as I add one more person to my murder list.

I force myself to sit up and look to see what happened to Jasper. I see him lying off to my left side. I get up and walk over to him. On the way, I trip over something.

It's his leg.

I stare numbly back at the severed limb, and then continue on my way to his body.

He is still breathing, but blood is pouring out from many wounds on his chest and missing leg.

He opens his mouth and says something. I don't hear it, so I lean closer to him and put my ear near his mouth.

He opens it again and says, "Congratulations."

Then his head rolls to the side and I hear him huff out his last breath and a cannon goes off.

As the trumpets sound and the announcer declares my victory, I slump back on the ground, stupefied, and stare straight ahead.

I do nothing when the lift comes to pick me up, so attendants are forced to stand me up and walk me to the platform.

I say nothing when my stylists parade around me, telling me how proud they are of me while they stick things into my hair and wipe grime off my face with cloths.

Jadjia stands off to the side. Out of anyone here in the room, she is the only one who understands what I am going through. She does not hug me, but she gives me a sympathetic look.

An attendant comes to take me to my floor. In the elevator, I look at the different buttons with different numbers on them, and think about the kids who were living on those floors that will never return home. The elevator stops and the doors open on level three.

I walk out and immediately I am confronted with the door to Girph's room. This is enough to send me into tears, and I rush to my room, close the door, and sob into my pillows.

My stylists rush into the room happy and giddy, but are stopped dead in their tracks by my crying. They surround me and try to make me feel better by reminding me that I had won and that I was now a hero in the Capitol.

I respond by grabbing the nearest blunt object, which happens to be a lamp, and swinging it at them violently.

I throw it at the nearest one and it hits her square in the head, knocking her out. I feel something stab into my shoulder and I pass out.

When I wake up again, I am in my bed. Jadjia walks in with the stylists following her. The one I clubbed in the head has a large bruise, but she has powdered it so much that the red doesn't even show at all. If she is upset with me at all, she doesn't show it.

Jadjia sits on my bed and says, "Wiress, sweetheart, the stylists need to prep you for the victor's ceremony. Is that ok?"

I nod my head.

"Will you cooperate and refrain from throwing any more lamps?"

I nod again. The male stylist snickers a little. Jadjia shoots him a look so intense that he actually flinches and shuts up.

The stylists get to work on me immediately. At the end of their dress-up game, my hair is curled and bobbed, all the hair on my body other than my head has been waxed off, and my body has been stained black in some areas. I am confused about why they have done this at first, but soon I realize why.

The shades of black on my body are the same shade of black the sand was after the mines went off.

They make me put on a dress that has flashing red lights, the same type of flashing light the mines had when they were activated.

I have become the Mine Girl.

Jadjia notices my frustration and gives me a look that tells me to snap out of it and just go along with it for now. The group parades me back to the elevator, then into the stable area where they place me on the chariot I originally rode on in the Tribute Parade.

It's quieter now that everyone else is dead.

The doors open. Confetti flies and the crowd's cheer is deafening as I am pulled out into the light. Screens show me circling the town square and banners everywhere have my face on them. People reach out to touch me, but are held back by Peacekeepers.

I would have probably kicked away any hands that had touched me anyways.

The chariot reaches the stage and I dismount with the help of Caesar. He escorts me to the seat, where I sit down and turn towards the huge telescreen.

I remember nonchalantly that Girph's father was in charge of the production of that type of telescreen.

Then the lights in the square dim and the screen powers up.

The video starts playing. The storyline focuses on me being a desperate wanderer who is helped along by intelligence. It shows all of the deaths I saw and didn't see.

The bloodbath scene showed me being tackled, then Girph saving me, then Girph being stabbed by Myrrh. Then it zooms in on my face as I watch Girph die, and all you see is pure desperation. Then it shows me running to my cave.

The girl from four is walking by when she sees my footprints and tries to crawl in to kill me. She gets stuck and the video skips ahead to the next morning. The girl from eight is the one who stabs her.

It shows me barely killing the boy from 4.

Then it shows the boy from 11 being tackled by Withrop, then being stretched out between her and Crush so Myrrh can exact her revenge on Imperio's death by stabbing him in non-vital but still painful areas. Then she slits his throat and he dies.

And I can't watch anymore and I turn and nearly throw up all over the stage.

I start crying, but I know I'm not allowed to leave the stage, so I turn my head and pretend I'm still watching the video.

I close my eyes during the scene where the water rises for the first time and three tributes die.

I also keep them shut during Myrrh's death at the hands of Withrop and Crush.

After a while, I keep them closed for the entire video until the very end, because I can't bear to watch anymore.

When I open my eyes, the video is going through a slow-motion scene of Uladaya stepping on the mine. It shows her literally being ripped apart by the explosion.

And similar to the way she is torn apart, my mind is ripped to shreds by the images I have been forced to watch.

I can't handle any of this. I need something to take the pain away.

A drink.

Some sleep powder.

Something.

I start calculating random things in my head to keep myself in check.

Five plus the square root of log seventy-six minus the cubed root of sixty-two equals…I keep doing this as President Snow places the crown on my head.

I am supposed to say something in the microphone as a victor's speech. I stand up and try to go through the speech that Jadjia and I worked on before I went into the arena.

I get out, "Thank you for the honor of…" before I start to lose it again and need to start calculating.

I turn away from the microphone and sit down. The crowd murmurs nervously.

Caeser steps in and tells the crowd that I am still suffering from an illness I picked up in the arena and that I will be unable to finish my speech. He reads it off for me instead.

At the end of his reading the crowd erupts into a cheer so deafening, you could almost forget that you just killed five people in the past week. Almost.

As I go back to my room to prepare to leave for District 3, Jadjia rushes up to me and asks if I'm ok.

I turn to her and murmur something unintelligible, then turn towards my room and get to work on packing.

Jadjia stands in the doorway, looking extremely worried. She knows the Games have gotten to me. She walks forward and places her hands on my shoulders.

"Wiress," she says.

I say, "It just hurts too much to…" and I turn away from her and start calculating again.

She leaves without a word.

As I pack my bags, I don't think about my family and friends that are waiting for me. I don't think of Jadjia,

I only think about the Games, and the death, and the blood, and how out of the chaos, I became a champion.

A champion of murder. 

* * *

><p>THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY. STAY TUNED AS WIRESS VENTURES OFF ON HER VICTORY TOUR, AND THEN BECOMES A MENTOR HERSELF!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: The Tour Begins

About six months later:

I wake up in my bedroom in my new house. I still call it that because the Victor's Village houses still don't feel like home.

Home is where my mother hums softly as she glides around the kitchen trying to make new recipes she's read about, and substituting all the ingredients with others because we can't afford them.

Home is where my father, covered in machine grease, bursts through the door with a hearty laugh and asks for dinner and a hug.

This house is not home.

The rules do say that family members can live with you in the Victor's Village, but our district has run out of room for family of the victors. There are three houses, each with two tributes in them.

I'm living with a young man named Beetee. I watched him win his Games when I was six. At the start of the Games, he only was able to grab a small backpack from the Cornucopia before he took a knife in the arm. He bolted away from the bloodbath, and once he was safe he opened his pack. Among the various food items, he found a knife and a long bolt of wire.

The arena was always drenched by a constant thunderstorm. Rain was always pouring and lightning flashed everywhere. Since the ground was so waterlogged, Beetee set up a strand of wire, snaked through a high-traffic area of the arena. He attached the other end to a large oak and waited. Sure enough, a bolt of lightning struck the tree and the wire shot the electricity through the boggy ground, killing all the nearby tributes that were walking in the mud.

After three days and five more lightning strikes, Beetee, whose sponsors had sent him rubber clothing and hidden up in a tree, was declared the winner.

He is kind enough, but he's very withdrawn and quiet.

Like me.

I walk downstairs. Beetee has prepared breakfast, as usual. Toast and jam. Neither of us like to eat that much.

We sit down at the table and prepare to eat. There is silence as we begin our meal.

Today is a special day, a bad day.

Beetee finally breaks the silence and asks, "Are you ready?" I shake my head in reply. I haven't said a word to anyone since I came home from the Games.

Now I may have to.

The Victor's Parade starts today. I leave in a few hours with Jadjia.

Beetee tells me a little about his trips to the different districts.

"Everyone loved me and was cheering for me, except for the family members of the tributes. The families of the ones that you killed will hate you the most, but they probably won't outright show it. Just try to enjoy yourself, no matter how hard it is."

I nod again and take a bite of my toast.

Someone knocks on the door. Before I can even get up to open it, it bursts open and the District 3 escort, Liam, flies in.

Liam is one of the few male tribute escorts, but he still manages to be the most annoying.

I notice he has a new hairstyle. A giant bright yellow afro.

This, along with his black-and-white face makeup and black suit, gives him the appearance of a giant bumblebee.

"Good morning Wiress!" he says in his high-pitched and cheery voice. "And Beetee, how are you?"

Beetee opens his mouth to say something but Liam has already turned away and started talking to me again.

"Guess what?" he says while clapping his hands together and jumping up and down.

I stare at him until he remembers that I don't talk and he answers his own question.

"The stylists are here!"

As if on cue, my three stylists rush through the door screaming and laughing. I hate them.

Then my head stylist strides into the room and the other three stylists back up, almost in reverence.

Illyana Krestilla is arguably the best stylist out of the forty-eight that dress up the individual tributes each year. This year she was switched from being the District 1 stylist to being the District 3 stylist.

Rumor has it she bet it during a card game while she was drunk.

She did a decent job on me for my Games, but everyone knew it wasn't her best work.

She probably had some resentment from losing a Career tribute spot. Regardless, since I won she'll have to do something amazing.

"Wandess, darling, how are you?" she said in a squeaky voice.

She still hasn't gotten my name right after six months.

"Ok let's get her looking sexy!" squeals Liam.

The stylists literally grab me and drag me into my bedroom. I consider grabbing another lamp and using it as a weapon, but I don't want to be stabbed with any needles.

So I start doing a few calculations and keep a clear head while the stylists make me "pretty".

When they step back, I am covered in a white substance with flecks of black glitter. My hair is bobbed up and I am wearing a black dress with white glitter flecks to complement my makeup.

I look atrocious. But there is nothing I can do about it.

All the stylists are literally jumping around and screeching at the top of their lungs about how amazing I look. Even Illyana, normally regal and polite, is in tears because of my appearance.

"My greatest creation!" she sobs.

I turn and leave my room, and the idiots, behind.

Beetee is still at the table, fiddling with some electronics. He looks up and quickly looks back down at the table.

I almost flash him a grin, but decide not to, and walk outside to go see Jadjia.

Jadjia lives with an older woman in the third house. The woman is Yvette Wisburry and she won her Games many years ago back when the Careers didn't train.

Back when everyone had an equal shot.

She turned to drugs to keep sane after her Games. She was one of the few victors who personally killed her district partner in order to win.

I open the door and see Yvette sitting at the kitchen table shifting piles of apples around for no reason at all. She turns and sees me. She gives me a toothless grin and tries to stand up to give me a hug.

She falls out of her seat and starts convulsing on the ground.

I rush over to her and help her back up into her seat. The drugs she took have damaged her mind so much that she is now a burden to society. Jadjia is the only reason she is still alive.

At that moment, Jadjia runs into the room. "Oh Yvette, are you ok?"

Yvette nods. Like me, she doesn't speak.

But not by choice.

Jadjia asks me to help zip up her dress. She looks stunning in her black and red outfit.

Liam bursts through the door and I groan loud enough that even he hears me. This doesn't slow him down at all though.

"Wiress, you dumpy downer! We have to go! Now! We're late! Chop chop!"

Suddenly, an apple flies across the room and hits Liam in the chest. He stumbles backwards and falls on his rump.

Yvette silently cackles in his direction with an open mouth and goes back to her work.

Liam stands up and tries to dab the apple juice up with his handkerchief. "Uncivilized brute." he says.

He then leaves out the door and Jadjia and I follow him.

When we reach the train, a crowd of people is waiting. My mother and father are waiting at the door of the train. I run into their open arms and hug them. They tell me that they love me and that they'll be watching me on the television set they have. I smile and kiss them both.

Then I board the train and the crowd cheers and I wave as Jadjia told me to. I focus on my parents, wishing that I could go back home to stay with them.

Then I feel a stylist re-bobbing a strand of loose hair, and I am reminded that life just won't be the same.


	7. Chapter 7: District 4

Jadjia sits down with me the next morning on the train and eats breakfast with me silently. We've been riding full speed since leaving District 2.

Our next stop is District 4. Of all the districts, this will probably be one of the hardest to face. I saw the two tributes from there die within an hour of each other on the second day in the arena. There will defiantly be some resentment towards me.

As the train pulls into the borders of the district, I see a beautiful lake with large townhouses near the water and smaller shacks further away. It's beautiful. Jadjia snaps me out of my stupor and tells me that eventually I'll have to say something today. I have to make a speech.

"And you can't just stand there silently like you did in One and Two!" says Jadjia.

I write down on a sheet of paper that if I say anything then I'll start thinking about the Games and I'll have to stop talking again and look stupid.

Jadjia frowns at my note. Then she says, "Try and find some middle ground."

I nod, even though I probably won't take her advice, and look at my speech and go over it in my head.

Liam strides into the room and announces that we have arrived. Jadjia nods at him.

He turns and leaves the room, but not before doing a small hop of excitement and clapping his hands three times. Ridiculous.

The train comes to a halt and I look out the window, see a giant crowd of people and banners with my name and face on them. People are chanting my name. "Wiress, Wiress!"

It doesn't faze me. I'm still worrying about meeting the families. I am escorted to a giant stage looking over the sea.

Already standing on the stage are the mayor, Liam, and the two families of the dead tributes. The family of the girl; a mother, father, and little girl, is on my left, and the boy's; a mother, father, and two older boys, is on my right. Jadjia stands next to me. She is introduced, then Liam, then me.

When I step forward, the crowd cheers, but I still clearly hear the little girl on my left say, "I hate her." I turn my head towards her and see her. Tears stream down her face and her mother grabs her and presses her to her side, hiding her from the crowd. Then she turns to me with a look of mixed sadness and anger, and I can make out the dark circles under her eyes from sleepless nights in a house with a newly unoccupied room. I turn away quickly and look back at the crowd.

When the cheering stops, Jadjia nudges me forward to the microphone. I stand there, open my mouth, and say nothing. I can't say anything. How could I say a thing about the Games that have stolen twenty-three sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins…why am I the one who lived?

The crowd murmurs nervously as I stand there for what feels like a long time. Then, I realize one thing I can say. I turn to the girl on my left and open my mouth. I haven't heard my own voice in half a year, so it catches me off guard how high-pitched and squeaky it sounds.

"I'm sorry."

I say it again and again and again. Then I turn to the other family and say it to them as well. Then I turn and run back to Jadjia, who grabs me and holds me as I start to cry.

Liam grabs the microphone and says something about how great next year's Games will be. Then he screams, "Let's hear it for Wiress!" Exactly three people clap, and one of them is Liam. The other two stop almost instantly. Jadjia pulls me off the stage and escorts me to the town hall. She is crying too. Once we're inside, she turns my face towards hers and through her tears says, "You did good Wiress."

I bury my face in my arms and she holds me like my mother would have. Through my crying, I remember that I have eight more of these to do. None will be as hard as this one though…I hope.


	8. Chapter 8: No More Hiding

5, 6, 7, 8. We reach District 9 and I begin to shake. I lied. This one will be the hardest of all. Jasper and Uladaya might have won if I hadn't used the minefield against them.

Everyone here will hate me.

The train pulls through a giant ravine between two high cliffs. I look out the window and see people chopping at the rock with axes. Then we exit the ravines and come upon a large city. Everything looks run-down and cheap. There are a few nicer looking houses in the middle of the town.

People are coming back from the cliffs covered in rock dust. Almost everyone here has jet-black hair and pasty white skin. I'll fit in just fine.

The train stops and I see more banners with my name and face. I'm used to them now. Liam comes in to tell us we have arrived, but I just shove past him and stand waiting for the door to open. I'm getting sick of these trips. The door opens and Jadjia escorts me to the stage. I see the mayor, and two families.

Jasper's family stands to my left. A mom, dad, and three brothers. Uladaya's stands to the right. Just a mom. That must be why she had said her family was so small. The mayor introduces Jadjia, Liam, and then me. Then, to my horror, he joins the woman standing to the right and holds her hand.

I almost throw up. He is Uladaya's father. I cannot take it. I run back towards the train. Everyone parts to let me through.

I think I hear Jadjia yelling at me to come back, but I also hear someone screaming.

It might be me; I can't tell.

I reach the train and pound on the doors.

Jadjia reaches me and literally grabs me and starts dragging me back to the platform. I scream, and she responds by stopping and shaking me.

"You can't just run away Wiress! You have to say something! You played in the Games and you won! That's all there is to it! Stop hiding from your problems and face them. Go talk to those people!"

I stand there limp in her grip. She lets go and after a moment, I trudge back to the stage. The entire town stands there waiting for me. I climb the stairs of the stage and go to the microphone.

I stand there for a moment, and then realize what I want to say. I take a deep breath and begin.

"Jasper and Uladaya were two of the bravest tributes I've ever seen. They found themselves in an unsolvable situation, but remained loyal to each other until the end. Jasper wouldn't let Uladaya die, and Uladaya would kill herself for Jasper to live. Only one of them had to die, and if it weren't for my trap, this district would have gotten one of them back. Uladaya spared my life, but I took hers instead. I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Jasper would have beaten me any day in a fight. I'm sorry I couldn't save him. I…I'm sorry."

There is silence. Then one of Jasper's brothers approaches me. Peacekeepers immediately block him and hold him back, but he is able to reach his hand through the barrier. I walk forward and grab his hand with both of mine. We stand like that for a small moment, not saying anything but still telling each other through touch that it'll be ok.

Then Liam takes the microphone and does his typical "give it up for Wiress" speech. Everyone applauds loudly. Some cheer. Most cry. Then I am whisked away to the town hall and then back to the train. As soon as I step on the train, my head starts hurting again and I start calculating again to make the pain go away. Some things never change.

10, 11. At eleven, the people are friendly and I find out that Hyctor, the boy who saved me with his arrows, was the cousin of a tribute who had been butchered by the Careers in a previous Games. He decided he was going to go out in a blaze and take out as many Careers as he could. The only reason he didn't kill me was probably that I reminded him of his cousin.

12. The district tours are finished, and soon I am in the Capitol. People in the giant glassy city scream my name and ask for autographs. I give them no attention, as my head hurts more than ever now that I am back in the city I so despise. Jadjia is recognized as well and she actually signs a few autographs. It feels like the trip ends very quickly, because most of it I spend sitting at a table alone.

On the train ride home, I walk into Jadjia's room to find her drinking out of a bottle. Four other empty bottles sit on the table with her. She turns to look at me and clumsily wipes the alcohol off her face. "Wiress! I didn't see you there. I…I just…" She stumbles and falls on her face, laughing hysterically. I close the door and leave for my room, wondering if Jadjia is as stable as I thought.


	9. Chapter 9: Reapings

Six months later:

Back in District 3, back in my home, and back in my seclusion. Beetee is the only person I talk to now, and even then, it's never more than three words at a time. My head hurts almost constantly now. Jadjia is in the hospital suffering from alcohol poisoning. She just snapped during our trip and now she drinks five bottles a day.

Yvette isn't doing well either. She is in the hospital in a coma. She only has a few days left.

Today is another special day. And probably the worst day ever for me.

The reaping.

Since I won, I am exempt from the reaping, but I have it worse than anyone in the town. I have been selected as a tribute mentor. The rule in District 3 is that the most recent victor for both boys and girls is in charge of mentoring until someone else wins. The girl from our district will have to be taught by me.

And I'm not even seventeen yet.

It's noon. Reaping time. I walk towards the center of the town with another victor, Kog.

Kog won his Games exactly five years ago.

He is in his twenties and this is his fifth time mentoring. I see that he looks very glum. Every single one of the tributes he ever mentored died in the first bloodbath. Including Girph from last year.

We reach the stage and look out at all the children. One of the girls will be my student.

I see some that are wringing their hands in fear, some that stare ahead stone-faced, and some that chat with others near them.

Liam skips, and when I say "skips" I mean "skips", onto the stage. "Hi everyone! Welcome to the reaping! Let's just skip all the formalities and get right to it! I suspect we'll be picking another winner this year!" Everyone looks at me, and I start calculating.

"Ok, here we go. Ladies first!"

Liam is about to dip his hand into the bowl when he remembers something. "Oh, right. May the odds be _ever_ in your favor!"

He reaches into the bowl and digs around for a slip. He grabs one, pulls it out, and reads the name. "Blair Woldorf."

I see her now. She's stumbling towards the stage, supported on each side by two friends.

I recognize her; she's arguably the most popular girl at our school. And she's in most of my classes. She reaches the stage and I move to help her into a chair. She is clearly shaken up.

I try to tell her not to cry, to remain strong, but the headaches are too much and I just stare at her silently.

Liam reaches into the boy's bowl and pulls out another name. "Charles Parrington" I see him move towards the stage. He is tall lanky, and judging by his shifting eyes, scared out of his mind. I see Kog shake his head. He knows that this one won't make it through the first day either.

Liam says a few meaningless things and then dismisses the crowd. Charles and Blair are whisked off to the town hall where family and friends can visit them. Already I see a huge line of people wanting to speak with Blair. Charles has a few people in his line.

When I was in that building, the only people that came to see me were my mother and father.

Kog and I board the train and wait for the tributes to join us. Kog goes to his room and I sit in the dining car.

About an hour later, Blair enters the dining room. Tears stream down her face as she walks over and sits down next to me with a defeated and dejected look on her face.

Sobbing, she stares at the table while I stare at her and try to figure out what to say. I grab a piece of paper and a pen and write her a message. "Unless you want to be classified as the town weakling, you should probably stop crying. I know it's hard, but you need to stay strong."

She reads it, then wipes her face and tries to hold in her anger, sadness, and pain. Then she turns to me and says, "How on earth am I supposed to win?"

I look at her and then grab the pen. I am about to write when she smacks the pen out of my hand. I look at her as she screams, "Don't write! Just tell me! How am I supposed to win? Why won't you talk to me?" My head is stabbed with pain and I let out a small scream and turn away from her, hands clutching my head.

"I wouldn't yell at her, Blair."

Kog stands in the doorway, with Charles behind him. "She is still recovering from her Games, and she has trouble talking about them, as you saw from watching her last year. Be patient. You're not the only one who's in a tight spot."

Then he leaves and Charles follows him. Blair sits silently at the table with her head buried in her hands. My head finally stops hurting and I sit up.

I turn to her and try to talk to her. "What…are you…what are you…what are you good at?" She looks up at me and thinks for a while. Then she says, "Well, I'm the fastest person on the track team. And I'm also cheer captain." This is true; she is very fast, and I've seen her gymnastic abilities as well. I smile, because now I realize she has a chance. We have a chance.

I try to talk again. "Any weapons…can you…do you know about…" She stops me. "Are you wondering if I know about any weapons?" I nod. She looks down. "No." I shrug. I didn't know about any weapons either before the training sessions, so that isn't as much of a problem as it might seem, as long as she's a fast learner.

I stand up and take her hand, guiding her to the room where the television is. Kog and Charles are already sitting on a couch talking.

We sit on another couch and I turn on the TV. The reapings are being shown. Blair and Charles sit silently and look at their competition.

The tributes from 1, 2, and 4 all look particularly young. The girl from 5 stands out with her strawberry blonde hair. The boy from 6 is missing an arm. The boy from 10 volunteers to be with the girl from 10, who appears to be his best friend. The screen blinks off after the tributes from 12 are shown. Kog clears his throat. Blair shifts nervously in her seat. Charles still stares at the black TV screen.

Kog finally breaks the silence. "Well, for once this year, no one looks particularly dangerous. The Careers, that's Districts 1, 2, and 4, don't look like they've gotten much training."

He's right. None of the Careers looked older than 15.

Kog continues. "There are two things you can do right now. The first is to not focus on what others can do to kill you. The second is to instead focus on what you can do."

There is silence again. Then Kog gets up and Charles follows him like a puppy on a leash.

I turn to Blair and say, "You should…to your room and…go to your…get sleep…" She takes a second to realize what I'm trying to say and then gets up to go to her room and sleep. She walks out the door and takes a few steps. Then, she turns and runs back into the room and gives me a quick hug. Then she runs out again.

I smile, and head to my own room to get some rest.

District 3 is the closest district to the Capitol. You can actually see the lights from the Victor's Village when the smog from the factories isn't clouding up the sky, which isn't often. Tomorrow, when we reach the Capitol, it will be a big day.

For everyone.


	10. Chapter 10: A Visit to The Past

As usual, we are the first district to arrive. Everyone in the Capitol train station recognizes the train and starts screaming and cheering.

Blair stares out the window and waves the way I told her to. The train stops and we are ushered out and into the Training Center.

All four of us enter the elevator. An attendant pushes 3 for us and we shoot up. I watch the excitement shoot across Blair's face; she's never ridden in an elevator before.

This elevator trip is horrible for me on the other hand. It only brings back bad memories. It was only a year ago that I rode the same elevator up to my room.

Alone.

The doors slide open and I see Girph's old room. I start to cry, and run to where I know my quarters will be.

The door opens automatically and I fall onto my bed and sob. Why am I here? Why do I have to watch more death?

I hear a knock on my door. I wipe my face and look up to see Kog standing in the doorway. His gaze calms me down a bit.

"I know how you're feeling right now," Kog says solemly. "The rooms that Blair and Charles are in have held dozens of other boys and girls. Almost all of them are dead. Instead of reflecting on the losses we've faced, try focusing on the good. We are alive."

Then he leaves to go to his quarters. I blow my nose with a tissue and calm myself. The last thing Blair needs to see is her mentor crying. I collect myself and go to see Blair in her room. I walk in and find her running around pushing all the buttons in the room to see what they do.

She's acting pretty young for a sixteen-year-old girl.

Giggling, Blair runs up to me and grabs my hands, pulling me into the room. Then she pushes a button that activates some hidden speakers in the walls.

Then she his another that makes the lights switch colors to the beat of the music. She spins me around in a circle, laughing.

I smile, but in the back of my head, I know this needs to stop. I let go of her hands and stop spinning. Then I go push the two buttons and turn everything off.

Blair still spins for a moment, not realizing that the music has stopped. Then she turns to me with her hands on her hips and looks at me quizzically.

"Blair," I say.

She nods and sits on her bed. I sit next to her, and try to keep focused so I can get out what I need to say.

"Blair…you need to remember…you…need to remember…why you're here." She stares at me emotionlessly.

"Blair…this isn't…this isn't fun…this is…this may be one of…the last days you spend alive…"

She starts crying. I stop talking. This isn't what I wanted to happen.

Everything inside me tells me I should get up and leave. But what would that do? Make her feel even worse.

So I sit with her until she stops crying.

Then she turns to me and says, "I know my days are numbered. That's why I'm trying to get as much fun out of them as possible.

I shake my head. "If you've…if you've already decided you're not going to live…then you won't. You'll go in there and…and die."

Blair hangs her head.

"But…if you decide you're going…to…to win…then you'll have…a…you'll have a…chance. She lifts up her head and looks at me.

Her bright blue eyes still shine with unshed tears.

I look at this terrified brown-haired girl and remember how two years ago she was the girl who shunned everyone except those who catered to her wishes.

And now she needs my help.

Everything I ever thought about her, every accusation and judgment, falls to pieces. All I see is a fragile girl who thinks she's going to die. Chances are she will die, but I'm going to do my best to prevent that. I'll teach her everything I know, which isn't much.

Regardless, she won't go into the arena with no idea what to do.

I won't let her die clueless. I won't.


	11. Chapter 11: Return of the Stylists

By the end of the day, most of the other districts have arrived. The rest will get here tomorrow morning. Blair and Charles go to sleep while Kog, Liam, and I stay up to discuss strategies. Kog begins by stating how he feels about Charles. "Charles has proven to be very humorous, but he doesn't have the stomach for killing. Turns out he's a vegetarian." He sighs and shakes his head. Liam giggles and says, "Well the Capitol will love him if he can tell a good joke. Then it'll make it easier for me to talk him up!" Kog stares at Liam like he's from another world, which technically he is, and then sits back. I start to talk about Blair. Slowly but surely. "Blair…she's sweet…she…she can run very fast…innocent…beautiful…yet fragile." "A glass bullet," Kog says. Liam claps his hands together. "Ooh I love it! Glass bullet! How fetching!" Liam pulls out a notepad and scribbles down "glass bullet" so he can remember it. As if he can't remember it himself. "Now then," Liam says, "Illyana has agreed to be Blair's stylist. And Charles will have Kora." Kora is the newest stylist in the Games. She was assigned to District 3 just this year. We'll see what she can do. "All right Kog, that's it for you," Liam says. "Wiress, you stay with me for a moment so we can go over how to be a good mentor." Kog gets up and leaves. Liam explains to me the procedures for accepting sponsors and rules of what I can and cannot do as a mentor. I cannot give a tribute a weapon as a token for the arena. I cannot give separate weapons training to any tribute. I cannot help a tribute kill himself or herself outside of the Games. "That about covers it sweetheart," Liam says. I want to throw up whenever he calls me "baby" or "sweetheart". But I'm able to hold it in, and I nod at him and get up to go to my room. Tomorrow Blair will meet privately with Illyana and the stylist team. I wish her luck; from what I remember from my experience with the crazy wardrobe squad, she'll need it.

The next morning I am walking by Blair's room to go get some breakfast when I hear a small shriek of pain. I put my ear up to her door and hear one of the stylists say, "Hold still, darling! We need to get every inch of hair off of you!" There is silence for a moment. Then I hear a loud ripping sound and Blair screeches again. The stylist says, "Oh dear…let me get something for the bleeding." I pull away from the door and go get some food. While I eat, I go through a list of the tributes and memorize their names, faces, and districts. It takes me ten minutes. I sit and read a book until I hear footsteps. I look up and see Blair standing in front of me, all cleaned up and beautiful in a bathrobe. Her hair is now straightened and she is wearing too much makeup, in my opinion. But I will admit she looks stunning. I can't tell how she feels about how she looks now. Her face shoes no emotion, save for a clenched jaw. She comes and sits next to me to eat. "You look nice," I say to her softly. She gives me a small smile and a side glance. "Thanks." She's hardly taken a bite of her buttered toast when one of the stylists shows up and announces that Illyana has arrived to design an outfit for Blair. She sighs and puts her head down. Then her fingers tense up on the table. She shoves her plate and lets her hands fly up over her head. The plate flies off the table and slams into the wall. Now I see how she really feels. Her face screams to me that she is stressed and annoyed, and her actions betray her. Blair stands up, letting her chair fall behind her. She doesn't make any move to right it. Instead, she walks out of the room and shoves past the stylist. He says something under his breath and follows her back to her room. Blair's starting to fight. Time will only tell if she starts to care enough to try to win. So much for "glass bullet". I think it's time to replace that nickname with "steel bullet".

A servant comes in and cleans up Blair's mess, and then leaves quickly. I decide to go check on Charles and Kora. I walk into Charles's room to find him sitting down talking to her. She's interviewing him to design an outfit based off his personality. Interesting. I leave as silently as I came in. I go peek inside Blair's room and find Illyana blathering on about nothing as she throws different fabrics onto Blair. Blair's face has a very ugly expression, and she stands there in a silent rage while Illyana goes on about nothing. "Look Claire, I don't…Oh! I'm sorry, I meant Blanche. I don't know why I called you Claire. I know a woman named Claire. Stuck up and pompous. I mean it Blanche, if I ever turn into someone who becomes too self-centered to see how much of an idiot she really is, then someone ought to ship me off to District 12!" Blair opens her mouth to say something, then closes it quickly. I slip out the door and go to my room. I unscrew a panel on the wall and tinker around with the wires inside it for no reason except to relieve my headache a bit. Inventing, calculating, and fiddling with electronics makes me relax more than anything else does. I hear a knock on my door a few hours later and turn to see Blair in a beautiful green evening gown embroidered with very small green sequins. That was fast. As Blair walks towards me, the sequin color switches to yellow with each movement. It looks stunning. Blair is smiling and she seems pleased with Illyana's design. Illyana stands in the doorway. Blair turns to her and thanks her for the garment. Illyana merely tilts her head high and closes her eyes, as if smelling something delicious in the air. Then she strides away, completely above it all. Blair doesn't even care. She stands there spinning around and watching her dress flicker and flash. She may have a temper, but right now she is the glass bullet again. Absolutely beautiful. As I watch her giggle and spin, I try not to think about how in a matter of days, she may be dead.


	12. Chapter 12: The District Parade

The next day, all four of us get ready for the Tribute Parade. This will be the first time the Capitol gets a good look at the tributes. It will also be the first time Blair and Charles will get to see their competition face-to-face. We all get into the elevator and go down to the ground floor of the Remake Center to get Blair and Charles onto their chariot. Charles is wearing a golden suit embedded with crystals that catch sunlight and shoot it back out in rainbows of color. He looks spectacular. We walk in and find the tributes from 4 in their ready positions. The boy is wearing a dark blue suit with matching pants. Normal. The girl is wearing a see-through blue gown that flows like an ocean of waves when she fidgets on her chariot. Whoever designed her outfit forgot to take in account that she's only fourteen. The dress would look better on a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. On her, it just looks trashy. She turns to look at Blair, and I can see the jealousy in her eyes. She wants to tear Blair's dress right off her back. I whisper to Blair, "The girl from 4…the girl wants…your dress…jealousy…is good…let them be jealous…of you." Blair nods. Then she turns towards the girl and spins her dress a bit to make it glow. The girl turns her head away quickly, but too late to hide the envy on her face. Blair smiles triumphantly and mounts the chariot. The other tributes file in and I note which look good and which look bad. Most look bad, especially District 10 in their white and black-spotted outfits. Are they supposed to be cows? All the tributes are in their chariots, so it's time for Kog and me to leave. Kog tells Blair and Charles to wave and look like they have nothing to do but stand there for the crowd. Then we go back into the elevator and go to the basement where there is a shuttle to take us straight to the Training Center, to our suites. My car has me, Kog, the mentors from 5, and the mentors from 9. I recognize the girl from 9. "You killed Shayla," I say to her almost nonchalantly. She gives me a blank look. "I'm sorry?" "She lives…she lived next door to me…5 years ago…your games…she was crying when…and you had that knife…" The mentors from 5 are staring now, and the girl from 9's expression has turned a bit sour. "I did what I had to," she says with venom in her voice. Kog puts his hand on my shoulder and pulls me a few steps away from her. "We all did," he says. The rest of the trip is silent.

The shuttle reaches the Training Center and we all file off and go to the elevators. We get into an elevator with the same mentor group. Our floor is the first stop. Kog and I get off. The doors close behind us. Kog walks in and goes to where he knows his room is. I stand in the hall. The memories are assaulting me so much that I can't move.

Memories of Shayla, the kind-hearted girl who I called my friend. The girl who would catch the flies and spiders in her house and release them outside instead of stomping on them and squishing them like I did. The girl who couldn't kill, and died screaming for her mother.

Memories of Girph. How he had been an acquaintance to me long before we entered the arena together. How he remained positive right up until the moment he tackled Myrrh off of me and saved my life. How he had died there in the sand, just one year ago.  
>The room is spinning. I'm dizzy from shivers that seem to start in my brain and rocket their way down to my toes. I'm crying, crying hard.<p>

Then Kog is grabbing me. "Snap out of it Wiress! The past is the past; you need to focus on Blair now! Forget Shayla, forget Girph, forget everyone who died here!" The memories all fade away quickly. All that's left in my head now is a headache. From the shaking, not the memories. Kog pulls me into the living room and turns the TV on just in time to catch Blair and Charles going around the curve of the Town Square. They look amazing together.

The procession continues, and the crowd's screams die down a bit due to the lack of creativity in the other district's outfits. The outfits from 5, whose district is in charge of power, have little strobe lights sewn on. They would have made a stunning showing had they not burned out immediately after they started flashing. Clearly the lights were too much for the small battery, which must have drained out. It's their stylist's fault, but the tributes from 5 will be the ones who suffer. With poor showings from most of the districts, Blair and Charles have a huge advantage now. Sponsors will start noticing which tributes have the most visual appeal, and sponsors have money, which can be used to help Blair and Charles in the arena. As the procession ends, I can't help but think that Blair might just win this whole thing. A few minutes later, Blair and Charles come in through the front door of our suite. I run to Blair and hug her. Then I release her and tell her how amazing she looked and how good of a job she did. She blushes and thanks me. Then she runs off to her room to change into normal clothes. Tomorrow is the first day of training for the tributes. I need to talk with Blair about what to do and what not to do. Blair comes out of her room a few minutes later wearing a simple outfit. I motion for her to come and sit with me, and she walks over with a little bounce in her step. I explain to her what will happen tomorrow in the Training Center. "There will be…many stations to…to choose from…tomorrow…focus only on survival stations…no weapons…not yet…there's no point in knowing how to…fight…if you can't find…food." Blair asks about making allies. "Don't…don't approach anyone…if they…if they come to you…then go for it…but be…be careful." Blair nods. I decide that while we're talking, I might as well start making her into a proper lady. Which shouldn't be that hard. We practice sitting up with backs straight, walking gracefully, and being overall appropriate. It takes about thirty minutes. Then I decide to figure out what her tone should be for her interview with Caesar. Hmm…innocent? No…snobby perhaps? No, not snobby. Sassy? Maybe. We decide a charming personality with a hidden motive underneath it would look good. Blair needs to be the girl that smiles at you, then slits your throat before you even realize the smile has left her face. I tell her to practice being charismatic and likeable, and send her off to bed.

I get up from the couch I'm sitting on and go to turn off all the lights. "Wiress," I hear. I jump a mile in the air and turn quickly. It's Kog. "I need to speak with you," he says. I go sit back down on the couch silently and he joins me. "Wiress…you and I both know that only one tribute can win the Games. That fact often slips by new mentors. Either one or both of our tributes will die. So we need to decide to either work together to help one, or work separately to help both." I sit soundlessly for a moment, thinking. Then I ask him, "Do you…think Charles or Blair…could win?" Kog nods. "Blair has a decent chance. She's fast, she learns quickly, and she's likeable. Charles…" Kog shakes his head and sighs a. "Charles is likeable, but he's a pacifist at heart. He won't fight. He's afraid of shedding blood and he isn't fast at all. He has no chance of winning." My mind jumps to Shayla, but I block it out and stare hard at Kog, realizing he's already counting Charles as dead. "Kog…Charles needs you…he needs you to teach him how to survive…just like Blair needs me." Kog frowns. "I'll help him until we get to the arena. But I won't be sending him any sponsor gifts if he refuses to fight. My guess is he won't even make it past the first day." I get angry now. "If my mentor had given up like you are now, then I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you! I was everything Charles is now! Slow, pacifistic, and uneducated on all types of fighting. But I won. I'm here. Charles can win too. For all I know, Blair might die in the first two minutes of the Games. But you don't see me giving up on her! You—" I am racked with a powerful headache and I let out a tiny scream as I clutch my head. My vision clouds and I am bombarded by visions of my Games that I have so tried to avoid. My dead companions. Girph. Hyctor. Jasper. Uladaya. Even the Careers, who would have butchered me if he had gotten the chance. I see all their deaths, the blood, and the horror. Different images of the Games I wish I hadn't seen I hear Kog's voice in the back of my head, but it sounds so far away and it is distorted and low. I can't focus. I can't breathe. I don't know if I am even breathing. Then I see Myrrh throwing a knife towards me, and as it hits, everything goes black.


End file.
